Mark A said...

Andrew,

Harley was very good on Saturday night. It was what dreams are made of. I can't tell you how many times I watched as owners of prestigious horses collected trophies in the winners circle at the Big M over the years...while I stood watching from the sides. On Saturday evening I had my photo taken in the winners circle with Harley, Yannick, Eric Trosten and had the privlege of holding the trophy for the first leg of the NJSS. To be honest it was a blur that I'm still trying to remember....but I had a smile on my face the entire time.

I read your other post about Share The Delight's break and wanted to offer you encouragement as we had our trials and tribulations with Harley last year (he has only gotten better this past winter) and I've had my share of heartache from previous horses I owned and groomed. I'm positive you'll be in the winners circle this year and I'll be rooting for you when you are in there. You'll appreciate and cherish the feeling for a long time once you do.

posted at 3:28 PM on May 19th 2008

Bob Marks said...

Did you notice that the perhaps our greatest all time driver had to personally handle the winner's circle pagentry as there was no one else on hand to drape the blanket over Corleone Kosmos?

Did you notice that the owners of Mr Feelgood were forced to participate in the winner's circle pagentry with one gentleman personally draping the blanket over the Graduate winner?

Is this the image we wish to convey to the world in general some scant hours after The Preakness?

posted at 8:54 AM on May 19th 2008

Jane Farkas said...

I haven't experienced a Meadowlands race, hopefully one day soon, but I did have the unexpected pleasure of an evening at Jackson Harness Racing in Michigan this past Saturday, 5/17. The stands were crowded, over 3000 in attendance, for dollar night specials (dollar hot dogs, sodas, popcorn, etc.) The night's racing provided great racing, drama, excitement and most of all a cheering crowd. The track announcer roamed the stands for most of the night's card interacting with patrons and especially catering to the children present, all while calling the races. There were other events such as a T-shirt toss into the stands by the drivers. Each race ended with most of the people in the stands on their feet cheering on their horse. We had to park on the street, a few blocks away but it was an easy walk to the track. Purses weren't high, no casino, but it didn't matter. I, just like the rest of the crowd, had a great evening of harness racing. Kudos to Jackson! If this was a typical race crowd, their marketing appears to be working.

posted at 10:51 PM on May 18th 2008

steve t said...

This does not have anything to do with the post, but have you checked out the SI poll about horseracing, it is very interesting.

From Andrew: Thanks Steve. What are the poll results?

posted at 5:12 PM on May 18th 2008